1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to alarm clock apparatus, and, more particularly to alarm clock apparatus capable of being selectively programmed for actuation on different days of the week.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 1,234,829 discloses a mechanical alarm clock that sounds on all days of the week except Sunday. That is, it sounds on six days out of a seven-day week. The alarm clock operates on a seven-day rotational schedule, but does not actuate or sound on the seventh day. The apparatus includes a silence mechanism to prevent the sounding of the alarm regardless of the day of the week. If the silence mechanism is not utilized on a day-by-day basis, the alarm will actuate each of the six days of the week, but not on the seventh day.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,646,659 discloses an alarm clock which operates on a seven-day cycle. The days that the alarm sounds can be selected by mechanical switching. The clock may either be electromechanical or purely mechanical. An electric motor may be used to drive the clock mechanism or a spring-wound motor may be used. The clock face includes twenty-four hours so that the alarm system need not differentiate between A.M. and P.M. hours.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,836 discloses an alarm clock having a seven-day cycle. The alarm system rings at predetermined times on each of the days of the week that is selected for actuation by a mechanical switch. As with the '659 patent, the alarm must be turned off manually after it has sounded. The apparatus is mechanical in operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,973 discloses an alarm clock which has an automatically variable sound. The alarm mechanism has eight different sounds which sound consecutively. The apparatus is not programmable or selectible on a day-by-day basis. The sound of the alarm simply changes each time the alarm is actuated. The theory behind the apparatus is that a sleeper will not be able to get used to a particular alarm clock sound, and thus be able to sleep through the alarm, since the alarm sound changes each time the alarm sounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,865 discloses a wristwatch type of electronic time piece in which the alarm will sound at predetermined times. The apparatus does not operate on a day-by-day basis, and accordingly is not selectively programmable to go off at the same time on different days of the week. Rather, different times in a twenty-four hour period may be programmed to have the alarm sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,029 discloses an electronic time piece in which scheduled time data can be set into a counter to have an alarm sound on a specified date or on a specified day of the week. The alarm sounds repeatedly at the scheduled time. Two portions of data are selectively utilized, a time portion and a date portion. If the date portion is not utilized, but only the time portion is utilized, then the alarm sounds when the time recurs each twenty-four hour period.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,524 comprises a programmable alarm clock which can be set to sound on a seven-day sequence which can be repeated the following week. The alarm is set, or can be set, to sound at a predetermined time on each day of a two-to-six consecutive day cycle. The apparatus is not programmable on a selective day sequence within the seven-day overall cycle. That is, the alarm cannot be set to sound on a Monday and a Tuesday, but not on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then again on Saturday but not on Sunday. The days that the alarm sounds must be consecutive during the two-to-six day cycle.